Travel insurance- Any reason accommodation cancellation

ianhumphrey

Is anyone aware of any travel insurance that will compensate for missed hotel accommodation regardless of reason?

We travelled to California in early January  2025 when the wild fires started to take hold of LA. We initially stayed in Anaheim.  We were due to travel to a hotel in the Miracle Mile.  Whilst there we became aware of the parlous state of much of LA.  The news broadcasts and Google maps and various other sources warned that the air quality in that area was unhealthy to very unhealthy for any individual.  The official advice was not to exercise outside and to wear a mask.  Several tourist destinations were closed, such as Griffith Observatory, the Getty Museum and Universal Studios. Both my daughter and I are asthmatic.

We cancelled our stay in LA.  Because we had booked through booking.com, the hotel and booking.com would not refund the large amount we had already paid for the accommodation (~$800). We booked and paid for the hotel well before the fires in November 2024.

We had Liverpool Victoria Premier Annual travel insurance, but because the hotel was open for business Liverpool Victoria said we were not entitled to a refund.  

Clearly one lesson is not to book through booking.com.  But the other is to choose travel insurance that will cover a claim like ours. Is anyone aware of such a company or policy?

eskbanker

I'm not aware of any insurance that ignores the reasons like that - policy pricing is always going to be based on insurable risks?

And surely the reason for not being refunded by the hotel isn't that you booked through an agent per se, but because you chose a non-refundable rate when doing so?  Whenever I've used companies like Booking.com, the distinction between cheaper non-refundable rates and the more expensive refundable ones is always made very clear....

Hoenir

What have Booking.Com done wrong? You had the option to book a cancellable room rate. Insurance isn't going to cover every eventuality. The fires were some 50 miles away. You weren't in any imminent danger. 

zagfles

Why would you think booking.com would refund? They're just an agent, they make bookings on terms set by the hotel. 

I very much doubt there's any insurance which allows cancellation for any reason. If you want to cancel for any reason then just book cancellable accomodation, nearly everywhere will have accomodation options that can be cancelled for no charge at short notice, sometimes just a day or less. 

Or if you're travelling off peak, particularly somewhere like the USA, why bother booking accomodation at all. Last few road trips we did in the USA we didn't book anything, just turned up at motels/hotels, most places have loads, that way if something goes wrong to change your plans (weather, fire etc) just go somewhere else, if there's somewhere you like you can stay longer than planned, or somewhere you don't like move on earlier than planned. 

Westin

I would echo what others have said.

I think you are being unfair on booking.com.

The hotel sets the payment/refund policy, not booking.com.  You also must have selected the cheaper non-refundable rate when you booked. You could of paid slightly more for a rate that was flexible and offered cancellation with refund.